A young boy, who lives in the neighborhood where Freddie Gray was arrested and where residents rioted over his death in April, is stopped by police tape at the scene of a shooting where two men were shot at the intersection of West North Avenue and Druid Hill Avenue in West Baltimore, Maryland May 30, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

WASHINGTON -- The US city of Baltimore has recorded 43 deaths from homicide in May, the highest monthly murder toll since August 1972, police said on Monday.

The total murder cases in the first five months reached 116, up from 81 in the same period last year, according to police data. Baltimore is the biggest city of Maryland.

Black males made up most of the May murder victims in the city, about 60 percent of whose population is black.

The record murder toll came after the city was shaken by the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who died on April 19 from spinal injuries believed to be sustained while under police custody in the previous week.

Gray's death provoked weeks-long protests in Baltimore, where a five-day curfew was imposed after protests turned violent. Dozens of buildings and vehicles were burned, some 20 police officers injured and more than 200 people arrested in riots.